"You can do this," Kurt said, "NYADA would be lucky to have you. They're stupid if they don't want you, because it will be a huge kick in the face for them if you go on to be the Tony winner I know you were born to be without them."

It had been nearly a month since Kurt had surprised him for his birthday. It simultaneously felt like it was yesterday and an eternity ago. In those last few minutes before he was due to audition, there was nothing Blaine wanted to do more than talk to his boyfriend. He had rehearsed his song many times to him via Skype, and knew he could do it. He refused to have any doubts in his performing ability. He wasn't the only NYADA hopeful at Dalton, which had secured their school as an audition location, the few girls who were auditioning from their sister school also attending their audition day.

"Blaine Anderson." Carmen Tibideaux called confidently, not in the form of a question the way so many other people would call. Blaine took a deep breath and nodded to the accompanists as he stepped onto the stage. He walked right to centre stage and stood confidently in front of the microphone.

"Ms Tibideaux," Blaine greeted, "I'm Blaine Anderson, and I will be singing Bring on the Men! from Jekyll and Hyde."

"A daring choice," she noted, "When you're ready."

Blaine took a deep breath, and let the accompaniment begin. "There was a time, I don't when, I didn't have much time for men, but this is now, and that was then, I'm learning...

"A girl alone, all on her own, must try to have a heart of stone. So I try not to make it known, my yearning.

"I try to show I have no need, I really do- I don't succeed!

"So let's bring on the men, and let the fun begin! A little touch of sin, why wait another minute? Step this way, it's time for us to play! They say we may not pass this way again, so let's waste no more time, bring on the men!"

Blaine belted the last 'Bring on the men!' and then exhaled what little breath he had left. Carmen applauded.

"A stunning performance, Mr. Anderson," she congratulated, "No doubt you're aware that the song is traditionally performed by a female?"

"Of course. I just don't think that music has a gender. I sing what makes me happy."

"And you sing it well, Mr. Anderson. I've seen some of your show choir performances, with the Warblers, is it? You sing a lot of popular music. I'm pleased to see you can carry off a show tune with equal stage presence."

"Thank you." He allowed a fresh smile to cross his face. Carmen Tibideaux just applauded his stage presence.

"Thank you, Blaine."

"Thank you for your time, Ms. Tibideaux." Blaine half bowed and exited the stage, mentally reliving the highlights of his performance. He liked to recap what had gone well and what hadn't. He brought his fingertips to his wrist, fumbling for his lucky bracelet- before he remembered it wasn't there. He found his phone instead and sent a text to his human good luck charm.

I think it went well. She seemed to admire our choice.

You mean *your* choice. I had nothing to do with it.

You had everything to do with it. Could never have done it without you xxx

I'm honoured ;) xx

I love you.

I love you too. I'm sure you did great.

Thanks, Kurt.

Anytime. What are boyfriends for? ;)

Two weeks after his NYADA audition Blaine found himself in New York, utilising both of Kurt's birthday presents. They walked from the elevator to the door of Kurt's apartment hand in hand, before Blaine dramatically pulled his keys from his pocket, found the right key and heroically let them into the apartment. "I had to use it at least once," Blaine said, and Kurt just laughed and pushed him inside, shutting the door quickly behind them and locking Blaine in a passionate kiss.

"Hello," Kurt said when they broke apart, leaving their faces mere inches from each other, "we can't do this at the airport, and I was yet to greet you properly."

"I don't mind," Blaine whispered, kissing Kurt again, "we can't do this via Skype, either."

"Alongside other things..." Kurt said, taking Blaine's hand and leading him away from the door. Blaine's face was simultaneously the sexiest and most adorable thing he had ever seen. They stopped outside Kurt's bedroom door, and Blaine took it as a chance to attack the side of Kurt's neck with kisses. Kurt gently pushed Blaine away from him by his shoulders. "There will be plenty of time for all that, honey, but first," Kurt kissed Blaine again for good measure, "sing for me."

Blaine laughed softly. "Sing for you?"

"Come on, Blaine, baby, I want to hear you sing your audition song with real sound quality." Blaine kissed him again.

"Anything for you," he said, and sang as he twirled Kurt around the living room.

"I should disapprove of all this man-having, shouldn't I?" Kurt teased.

"'They break your heart, they steal your soul, take you apart, and yet they somehow make you whole,'" Blaine quoted, "and fortunately, it only takes one man to do that."

"Did you just imply that I break your heart?"

"Yes," Blaine said, "You are devastatingly gorgeous and you live a whole state away."

"There is literally no distance between us now, Blaine," Kurt said, "I think we ought to take advantage of that."

"Oh really?" Blaine's voice lowered.

"Yeah... I was thinking we walk through Central Park and then go get something to eat."

"Tease," Blaine mumbled into Kurt's neck. Kurt laughed, and kept them looped together as he pulled him towards his bedroom.

The rest of the weekend was spent similarly. Leah kept herself scarce, constantly running errands; they made plans and cancelled them in favour of staying in the apartment, or, to be more honest, Kurt's bedroom. New York wasn't going anywhere and they had plenty of time to do everything later.

Kurt rolled over in Blaine's arms when his phone buzzed on the nightstand. "Shit," he hissed. He rolled back over and kissed Blaine softly. "Honey, I totally forgot, but Charlotte just told me that she's running late. For our meeting that was meant to be in ten minutes. Here." Kurt slid out of the bed, and Blaine whimpered at his absence at his side, although he was in no hurry to leave the bed himself. Kurt pulled on his underwear and Blaine's discarded white V neck, before he searched the room for his sweatpants. He checked his hair in the mirror, and turned to Blaine. "Do I look like we've been cuddling all day and watching movies or something?"

"Yes."

"But do I look like we've been like rabbits this weekend?"

"No."

"Good. Well, you do, so go take a shower and get dressed and then come and join me in my meeting." Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he smiled sweetly, "I'll go and shower." Kurt crossed the room and perched on the edge of the bed, kissing Blaine lightly.

"Can I keep this shirt?" Kurt asked later, while he sat unhelpfully on the bed as Blaine repacked his bag for the trip back to Ohio, "it smells like you and I can't smell you through the internet."

"Of course, if you want." Blaine replied, smiling softly to himself. Kurt found a pair of his sweatpants and passed them to his boyfriend.

"Here. I know you prefer them to your own."

"Because you're taller than me, and they are just perfectly roomy." Kurt crossed the room and kissed Blaine. "What was that for?" he asked, and Kurt shrugged.

"I love you. And I don't know what I would do if you hadn't come to visit me this weekend, because I don't know how long it will be until I see you next like this, with all of the physical stuff."

"The physical stuff?"

"Not what I meant, although that is great too... I mean the kissing and the hand holding and the waking up next to you." Blaine abandoned his bag and slid his arms around Kurt's waist.

"Hey, we only have a few months of this and then I'll be here all the time, and quite frankly, that might be a little weird. We might have to sit in different rooms and Skype each other to adjust." Kurt laughed and nuzzled into Blaine's neck.

"Thank you," he mumbled, "I just miss you so much."

"I love you, Kurt." Blaine said simply.

"Good."

"Good?"

"I love you too."

Nearly a month after their last reunion, they were back into their usual routine of calling each other and Skyping regularly. "Blaine!" Kurt answered his phone, "How are you? What brings you to call me at such a time? Not that I don't love hearing from you, because I definitely do, but is everything okay?"

Blaine laughed softly. "Relax, I'm fine. Just my mom is out, and I came home to find a letter from NYADA in the kitchen, and I couldn't open it by myself."

"I'm here... no, Leah, can it wait a few minutes?" Blaine heard muffled voices at the other end. He put his phone on speaker and set it down on the table.

"Is it a bad time? Are you disastrously busy?"

"Not at all. This is way more important."

"Okay," Blaine said, inhaling deeply. He slid his finger under the seal and withdrew the paper from in the envelope. He unfolded it and scanned it quickly. "I'm in," he said, "I'm in! I'm going to New York!"

"Congratulations! I always knew you would make it!"

"Thank you for being here while I did this, Kurt."

"Thank you for letting me be. Leah, I- look, they're getting mad at me now and I have to go. Are we having our regular Skype date tonight?"

"Of course. Now go do your thing. I love you."

"Love you too, Blaine." Kurt hung up with a soft click. Blaine looked from the letter to his phone and back again. In just a few months, he would be going to New York, to the most prestigious musical theatre school in the country, and being close enough to Kurt to see him every day, no matter where exactly he lived.

Wes demanded that Blaine went to his house after Warbler rehearsal one day, and considering how little time they had actually spent together recently Blaine complied. Wes sat Blaine down in his bedroom, although he remained standing, pacing the room.

"It was almost exactly a year ago today that you came to my house with your girlfriend," Blaine went to interrupt, but Wes held up a hand to silence him, "and we played the most recent Born Rivals game. I shut you out of my bedroom until you produced me a ten item bucket list, which I now present to you so that you can make amendments as you see necessary." Wes handed Blaine a scrappy piece of paper which he had held onto and a pen from his desk. "I get that this could be kind of personal, so I'm just gonna run downstairs for a moment." And with that, Wes left Blaine alone with his thoughts.

Love. See a Broadway show. Get well known for something. Be a hero to someone. Successfully complete high school. See another J.K. Rowling book. Meet Kurt Hummel. Earn money for something other than household chores. Master the art of calculus. Walk in Central Park with someone worthwhile.

Blaine smiled down at the page, pen in hand. Now as he revisited it- with only gentle prompting- he realised just how fateful that year had been. He hadn't thought that any of the goals would have been achievable.

Love. He put a check next to it, thinking just how much of a journey he had been on, with everything always coming back to Kurt. As soon as he had said those three little words, he never felt any reason to turn back on them, ever. They had had their arguments, but never had Blaine felt anything but pure love for his boyfriend.

See a Broadway show. He had seen Wicked on that first trip to New York, and it had only fuelled his passion for musical theatre. Without it, he may never have decided that NYADA was the school for him.

Get well known for something. He hadn't used the word famous, because that was never what he had wanted. But now his picture was easy to find, linked almost exclusively with Kurt's name. Teenage girls everywhere recognised him and took not-so-sneaky pictures of him with their phones, and he knew they were just ending up online.

Be a hero to someone. He had had a kid- Blake- hug him at his support group one week, as he announced that he was in fact gay, and that, much like Elliot's story had inspired Blaine and helped him through everything, Blaine's story of finding unlikely love and never once giving in to his cancer had shown him that it was possible- that it was all possible.

Successfully complete high school. Graduation was getting closer and closer, and there was a time he thought he wouldn't live to see the day. He had plans for after it finally got there, and Blaine knew that he would finish that point. He was absolutely positive.

See another J.K. Rowling book. It may not have been Harry Potter, the inspiration for Hedwig as Kurt's alias- but The Casual Vacancy had filled a certain void for him. The contact name had long been changed to Kurt, since there was nothing to hide, but the ringtone had stayed.

Meet Kurt Hummel. He had done so much more than that. There were parts of Kurt he knew only he had ever had access to and similarly Kurt knew Blaine possibly even better than he knew himself. When he had put that down on his list, he had never once thought they would meet a second time, or become friends, let alone get where they were now.

Earn money for something other than household chores. He had discovered that he didn't make a terrible piano tutor in recent times. He only seemed to do it occasionally, but it counted. His mom wouldn't let him ever have a proper job anyway.

Master the art of Calculus. Although he didn't want to jinx it before finals, he had made those Calculus problems his bitches, as Kurt had encouraged him to do months ago. He understood it all and, although he doubted he would need it past high school, he could do it.

Walk in Central Park with someone worthwhile. Little did he know he had done that a year ago, that second time he had met up with Kurt. They had taken similar walks many times since, and every time was memorable and worthwhile in its own way. He would never tire of the park, the walking, or the Kurt.

Wes knocked lightly on the door and let himself in. "Are you done?" he asked tentatively, "Because I brought your other best friend with me." Wes pulled Olivia in, and she twirled neatly to his side.

"I knew there was a reason I had barely seen either of you recently," Blaine stated, "I kept forgetting it was because of the other."

"This is no different to how it is with you and Kurt. You ask the details and I'll give them. You ask him the details and he'll give you a slightly different story." Olivia said. Wes pouted and Blaine laughed.

"Don't let me get in the way. I'll just be off." Blaine stood to leave.

"No!" Olivia exclaimed, blocking his exit, "you are going to semi-awkward third wheel with your two best friends, like I have done with you and Kurt so many times."

"If you two start making out I reserve the right to chase you with a water gun." Wes looked puzzled, but Olivia laughed, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"Oh, Blaine," she said, "I've missed you, but that is never going to happen. You can't use a master plan like that against me." She broke the hug and smiled, dragging Blaine back into the middle of the room. "Now are we going to play some Born Rivals or what?"

A few weeks later Blaine got a call at lunchtime. He glanced at the screen and accepted the call. "Hey, Kurt," he answered, and the Warblers, who were conveniently seated at his table, began to wolf whistle and tease him. Blaine smiled, shaking his head lightly, and left the cafeteria.

"Blaine," Kurt said, "It's lunch for you, right?"

"Sure is."

"And I haven't interrupted anything too important?"

"Not at all. What's up? Are you okay? Have you been crying?" Blaine leaned against the wall of the hallway, pleased that no one really hung around in the hallways at that sort of time.

Kurt sniffled. "A little bit. We just wrapped."

"Oh."

"I may be a little emotional. Elliot just graduated, Blaine. He finally made it to the end of high school."

"Isn't that a good thing? He lived that long. Do you know how many teenagers will be happy with such a small victory?"

"I know," Kurt said with a sigh, "I'm just being selfish. I can't just slip into Elliot again at the start of next season."

"But there is so much more that you have. I mean, you can keep working on your scripts for your show, and who knows what other offers you'll get? You are award winning actor Kurt Hummel. The world loves you. You aren't going to be wiped from the surface of the earth just because Elliot isn't a regular anymore."

Kurt let out a noise that resembled a giggle. "Thanks, B. I just needed to talk to you. Elliot is something we share, I guess, and there just isn't anyone I would have preferred to talk to more. Not even Cassidy or Luke, even though they're my on screen best friends. And Henry, who is my on screen ex, even he doesn't get it."

"Jelliot breaks up in the finale?" Blaine asked, "Spoilers, Kurt, spoilers!"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to ruin it for you. Maybe you could avoid posting that online? People trust you as a source these days."

"Of course. Some of us have common manners when it comes to spoilers," Blaine mocked upset.

"I'm really sorry!" Kurt said, genuinely concerned, "you just have to watch the episode though, okay?"

"So what are you going to fill your new spare time with?"

"I was thinking I would keep working on my scripts, like you said, and now I have the time, I think I'm going to pitch it to a network or two."

"Does the elusive show have a name yet? Since you won't even tell me what it's about, or let me read any of it. Which is totally fine, by the way, I respect your privacy about it all."

"I'll tell you about it later, okay? It might be a bit weird to try and explain it via phone, and I don't want to have to leave or for you to go to class in the middle. I'll Skype you about it?"

"Okay. Just give me one tiny detail to work with?" Blaine said hopefully.

"Becoming Innocent. That's what I'm calling it. Even the show is about the total opposite."

"Leah?" Kurt asked, his phone freshly stashed in his pocket and his eyes newly wiped clear of the tears. She looked up from her phone.

"Hm?"

"I need to go to Ohio."